The Summary Journal 8

Enhancement of Performance and Motivation through Application of Digital Games in an English Language Class

Source: Teaching English with Technology, 18(1), 77-92, 2018

By Saovapa Wichadee and Fasawang Pattanapichet

Application of games for educational purposes has been observed for many years with an aim to increase students’ motivation, which is an important, pervasive determinant of learning behavior (Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich, 2013). That is, a game-based learning context helps to shape a higher level of motivation of an individual (Ebrahimzadeh & Alavi, 2017). Games have significant role to play to change a traditional teacher-centered classroom to learner centered classroom. The use of games in class provides the students with an exciting learning experience (Icard, 2014). Accumulating points and getting a sense of competition-driven systems such as competing for prize and ranking are typical features in gamification (Burke, 2014). Therefore, students become attentive because games make their learning more enjoyable (Chou, 2015).

This current study aimed to determine how game-based learning affects students’ learning performance and motivation as well as investigate their views on gamification. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design. The participants are 77 students who registered for EN013 (3 credits) in semester 1 of the academic year 2017 at a private university in Thailand.

The findings reveal that the gemification technique not only increased students’ motivation but also enhanced their learning outcomes. This indicates that the application of digital games can transform any contents that are boring or difficult like aspects of grammar or vocabulary to be interesting and easier to understand. Games can make students enjoy attending the class. Since the game concerns winning and losing, instructors need to inform them of the real purpose of gamifying language activities. That is, what they can gain more than competition and enjoyment is learning something new such as grammar and vocabulary knowledge.